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[Spawn Sack]

Last year went fished Roche Lake (first time there) June 11th, 12th, and 13th. We booked the trip months in advance and took a guess on when would be a good time to hit the spring chronomid hatch. Unfortunately, we were a bit late! The fishing was pretty slow/uneventful while we were there. A LOT of grumblings from fly guys we talked to. Between the two of us we got about 6 to the boat over the 3 days However a week or two before this apparently it was on FIRE and guys were having an absolute hoot!

We are looking at going again this spring and would like to go when the fishing is better. I'm thinking end of March or very beginning of June would be best? Or maybe I'm talking out my a** as for all I know they could be projecting an early or late ice off this year, or other variables I have not considered.

The dates we are considering going would be May 24th-27th (give or take a day) or June 3rd - 7th (give ir take a day). I'm not sure how accurate/addvisable it is to use a past year to plan a subsequent year. Any tips for guys who know this lake and area would be awesome

[typhoon]

If you are thinking of staying at the resort it usually is fully booked through May. Last time I talked with them the first week of June was booked.
I haven't seen ice off earlier than May 1 (or so). End of March has zero probability of being iced off.
Later in June I have run into sunny weather with gale force winds for an entire week which made it essentially unfishable except for the few spots behind islands.

You pays your money - you takes your chances. I have had spectacular days when everyone else is grumbling. You just have to try harder/smarter.

[Easywater]

Last year Roche didn't ice-off until around April 25th.
I suspect that things will be a little earlier this year but it can be pretty miserable until mid-May.

The thing about fishing right after ice-off is it can be gangbusters but you have a fairly short window (10 days) until turn-over which kills the fishing for 1 to 2 weeks (Roche timing only).

[Spawn Sack]

Thanks guys I've emailed the resort with the dates we can go, hopefully the cabins aren't booked up yet. And yes we are looking for cabin rentals are we don't own an RV and are getting a bit old to be tenting

Soooo...if both sets of dates are available, which one would you guys be inclined to roll the dice on? May 24-27 or June 3-7? If cabins are booked over both sets of days I'll have to abort this plan and go another time.

[Sandman]

Thanks guys I've emailed the resort with the dates we can go, hopefully the cabins aren't booked up yet. And yes we are looking for cabin rentals are we don't own an RV and are getting a bit old to be tenting

Soooo...if both sets of dates are available, which one would you guys be inclined to roll the dice on? May 24-27 or June 3-7? If cabins are booked over both sets of days I'll have to abort this plan and go another time.

In my experience, there is not going to be much difference between those dates, certainly nothing from previous years would give you any indication that one week is going to better than the other.  Once the lake turns over and recovers, fishing will be relatively consistent until it begins to heat up in July.  That first period of after ice off is awesome, a similar late April turn over made the opening week incredible as the fish were hungry and all in the shallows.  After the Lake turns over, the fish are more spread out and are harder to dial in until the thermocline has a chance to reestablish itself.  You need to focus on certain locations at certain times of the day and you will surely get into fish.  The bonus of a June trip is you may get into some traveling sedge hatches, but those have been poor in recent years (too many gas boats on the lake).

[Spawn Sack]

Well we got-er all booked! Arriving May 25th and staying 3 nights departing on the 28th! We are pretty stoked

I'll have to go through my flies (esp. chromomids) and think long and hard about what I want/need tie tie up, and get tying!

Anyone care to share a top tie(s) for spring fishing on Roche? Last year, our first time there, the trout seemed to have had their fill of chronomids. Noone was having much luck on them. We got most of our fish on annoying attractor leeches like the Las Vegas leech, Vampire Leech, etc. Flies that looked like actual food were not working so well. Flashy and annoying was the ticket.

[Chehalis_Steel]

Roche can be a real pain to fish sometimes as it can be on and off. This is why I don't fish it much any more. Sometimes the fish just don't want to bite, even though you are fishing EXACTLY what should be working. I don't know if it has something to do with the insane fishing pressure during peak season, especially from guys trolling the lake.

The success I've had in the past was mostly with the regular indicator chir. setup. Ice cream cone black with red wire rib in sizes 10-16 works really good when the fish are feeding on the bottom on the drop offs. Woolly Buggers also worked really well in black and olive under an indicator or on a fast sink line (stripped in or even jigged up and down where you see fish on the fish finder)

If we get an early spring you might want to try damsels and Caddis emerger patterns as well.

[armytruck]

Once apon a time 
I fished the first day with green wooly buggers and couldn't keep them off , then a big black cloud came over and haled snowballs for 20 minutes . That ended the frenzy of fish . It went dead for the couple days .  The next day I had to pack it in and head home. I thought I would a least take a fish home before I left cause I love a good fried trout and a beer so I pulled out one of my go to flat fish . Sorry fly guy's  .

[Easywater]

Well we got-er all booked! Arriving May 25th and staying 3 nights departing on the 28th! We are pretty stoked

I'll have to go through my flies (esp. chromomids) and think long and hard about what I want/need tie tie up, and get tying!

Anyone care to share a top tie(s) for spring fishing on Roche?

There are some very specific chironomid patterns for Roche but I am not going to put them out here.

I have fished Roche end-of-May/beginning-of-June for the last 3 years.

2011 - May 22 to 29 - huge 6-8 lb fish located deep in the S/W corner
2012 - June 6 to 10 - lots of 4-5 lb fish right off shore of the S/W campsite
2013 - May 23 to 26 - was an off year - strange low water levels made it hard to find the fish

I will tell you that each year the fish were very deep - 30 to 35 feet.

I'll be there the weekend after you this year.

[HOOK]

I know a guy that has been fishing Roche for a long time. This is his "go to" pattern. fished as deep as 40' when needed !!



I'm mostly teasing because you cant buy this fly commercially and I cant share the recipe 


These were included in the last 4 fly orders I filled for friends and family. It pulled fish at EVERY lake we hit last year 

[Sandman]

If the Chronies are not working (black and red is good, black and silver with a silver bead is better), then try a small boatman in close to the weed beds.  Once you tire of the smaller maiden fish this will get you, then head out to the middle of the lake in the SW corner anchor between monster bay and the islands and hang a chorine or halfback straight down 30' and have a beer.  Make sure the rod is secured though.

[Spawn Sack]

Thanks for the tips guys! Will put that info to good use I can promise you. Armytruck, haha your story is pretty close to ours last year. Fishing was good the first day on the fly then cooled right off. By the end of the second day we really wanted a pan fried trout for breakfeast but could not get one to bite to save our lives. On went the the yellow and orange spotted flat fish I've had for about 30 years (yes really). After slow trolling it around some of the popular areas, speeding up/slowing down, zig zagging, coming to a dead stip then accelerating quickly, I finally pissed off a large buck about 4 pounds! Was a great scrap on my 4wt...I actually thought it was much bigger when playing it. I am planning to be prepared with my fly arsenal and sticking to fly fishing. However if nothing is working I'll bust out the light spinning gear and troll a flat fish

On a related note: If you're swapping out the trebble on your flatfish for a single, you want to add not one but TWO split rings to the lure. If you add just one, the hook will ride sideways through the water. If you add two the hook point will ride UP, which is what you want. I've experimented with both and found I lost less fish with two split rings due to better hook sets (usually in the boney roof of the mouth). I learned this from one of the guys in Fred's.

[Sandman]

You know, if you are hard up on the fly and really want a fish, nothing beats a worm under a bobber, anywhere on that lake, but over the weeds for certain.  My young son has never been skunked while I have been pounding the flies hard for the odd fish.  If you don't want to buy the big dew worms from the lodge, then just dig up a couple of the smaller variety.  He still remembers the monster that took his bobber down a couple of years back that was so big it wouldn't fit in our little collapsable trout net we had.  Quite a lot of fun trying to bring it in with his little Spiderman spincaster.

[skalett01]

Can we get a report of your trip? I am planning on going to Roche in a few weeks, but hearing about the winterkill is scaring me.

[Easywater]

I have changed plans from fishing Roche because of the problems there.

The BCFROA fly fishing championships were there last week and the results were awful.

I had a friend that is a good rod go up there last week and said the fishing there was bad and has been fishing a bunch of other lakes in the area.